Holy Cow!!! Today was a kick in the rear end!
Prologue: I started a giant migraine on Thursday that didn't let up until this afternoon, so the day was set for failure from the beginning.
Andrew had called the Bishop and gotten out of all his responsibilities for the day, because I was a mess. So we figured it would be a fairly relaxed Sunday with lots of sleep. And it started out that way. The kids were wired after putting up with a sick mommy for 3 days. I'm sure the overload of Halloween candy didn't help either (pictures to follow in a later post). About lunch time the trouble began.... Zach and Daniel had just gone down for a nap, and Michael was playing quietly in his room (we thought). Andrew came in and laid down on the bed beside me to talk for a few min. Michael came in and told us he had just gone potty and that it wouldn't flush. Now, that statement wasn't exactly correct. It flushed, just all over the floor. I will spare you the details, but I will say that every towel in the house was put to good use along with the plunger, our new friend, a plumber's snake or auger, and the carpet shampooer. The culprit was a nice big wad of baby wipes because my sweet son has issues with toilet paper!!! My headache took a back seat to the problem at hand. I think it will take a few showers before I feel completely clean again.
During the toilet trouble Zach and Daniel woke up and found that Mommy and Daddy were preoccupied. They saw thier oppurtunity! Out came a big box of Rice Crispies that they decided to decorated my bedroom with. This might not have been a big deal, except that there were piles of sorted laundry in the way that were the perfect hiding place for those tiny crunchy crispies! To add insult to injury, the bishop had announced over the puplet in church that Bro Bates was excused from the meeting to take care of his poor, sick, pregnant wife! So while I had my hands deep in sludge, the doorbell rang! I love the compassion in our ward, even when it is embarrassing! It was the Primary Pres. offering to bring over dinner in a few hours. Of course the house smelled like an outhouse and looked almast as bad when she stopped in!
After the bathroom was cleaned, recleaned, and sterilized, we did a quick slick up downstairs before she came back with dinner. This time when the doorbell rang, the house looked and smelled a little better. I can't say the same thing about myself. I had just gotten out of the shower and was dressed in my less than best sweats. So I told Drew he had to answer the door and I rushed for the bathroom to hide. Just as the door opened, Michael (gotta love him) announced "Mommy's hiding in the bathroom! Come and find her!" I buried my head in my hands and gritted my teeth. Drew made great small talk, and they both completely ignored the boys, who were at this point banging on the bathroom door, saying, "Come out Mommy, we found you!" This continued until Sis. Crochett slipped out the door. I think I owe her brownies and a good explanation!
Anyway, dinner was great and just what we needed after such a crazy day. Since I hadn't cooked in the passed 4 days, the boys were starving and ate like pigs. "This is sooo good!" they kept mumbling through stuffed mouths. You would think they had never eaten a home cooked meal! Just as we were feeling like we had reclaimed the day, Zach threw up his peas and rice all over his lap. The day had to get in one last gotcha! Well bed time is right around the corner...What else could possibly go wrong?
The snowballs got bigger and bigger!
About an hour into the event they all came in shivering and crying with cold feet and wet hands, but a quick mug of hot cocoa saved the day!
Then we played with the collage feature on Picasa!
Aren't they cute!
Michael had pulled out his little tent and set it up beside his brother's bed.
Playdough monsters.
I keep thinking about President Monson's talk in conference about finding joy in the journey. I know this time whem my boys are small is so short and soon it will be gone. I hope I can find more of these quiet moments to be grateful and find the joy in the process.
We did go trick-or-treating, but I was too in the moment to snap pics. 
Don't they look like they like each other?
Zach is starting to get tired of all the pictures and wants to play hide-and-seek, but he is trying to be a good sport!
"Can we go play now?"
Okay I think picture time is over!
A quick pic on the way into the park. Don't they all look like little angels...
Zack in his natural habitat! Where did his feet go?
Here they are riding the tractor that looks like a long chain of cows biting each other's tails! We're in the country now.
Now this one took me a minute to figure out... It's a sandbox filled with corn! Who came up with that one? The boys were dumping kernels out of their shoes the rest of the afternoon. They loved it though. I had to lure them out with fruit roll ups.
Somebody's up to something!
He was trying to smile for the camera, but the sun was in his eyes so he couldn't find me!
Aww! Fer cute! Am I boring you with photos yet?.jpg)
